Comparison of the Effectiveness of Emotional Cognitive Regulation Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Resilience, Cognitive Flexibility, and Rumination in Older Women with Major Depressive Disorder

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Dept. of Counseling, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

2 Dept. of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of emotion regulation training and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in improving resilience, cognitive flexibility, and reducing rumination in women diagnosed with major depressive disorder at later stages of life. This research followed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and a control group. The study population included all women residing in assisted living facilities collaborating with this research who had received a formal diagnosis of major depressive disorder. A total of 45 eligible participants were selected based on inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to three groups: an emotion regulation training intervention group, a tDCS intervention group, and a control group, using simple random allocation. The intervention for each experimental group consisted of eight individual sessions. Data collection was conducted using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Cognitive Flexibility Questionnaire, and the Ruminative Responses Scale. The gathered data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and Tukey’s post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05, using SPSS-27 software. Among the two experimental groups, compared to the control group—while controlling for pre-test effects at a significance level of 0.05—only the emotion regulation training intervention exhibited a statistically significant effect on the dependent variables. Results from Tukey’s post hoc test further indicated that tDCS did not yield significant effects on any of the three measured variables within the study sample. Findings highlight that emotion regulation training is an effective intervention for enhancing resilience, improving cognitive flexibility, and reducing rumination in individuals with major depression, whereas tDCS did not show a significant impact. These results underscore the key role of cognitive-based interventions in promoting mental health in older adults.

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Aging Psychology
Volume 11, Issue 1
May 2025
Pages 42-21

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 December 2024
  • Revise Date: 28 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 06 April 2025

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